a world of difference

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Satmar brawlers sentenced

BROOKLYN: SENTENCES IN FIGHT AT TEMPLE Four men received sentences of community service yesterday in connection with a fight in an Orthodox temple in 2004. The fight stemmed from a power struggle between two brothers, Aaron and Zalmen Teitelbaum, seeking to succeed their father, Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, as leader of the Satmar Hasidic sect. Without admitting guilt, the four entered guilty pleas, based on the strength of the evidence, to charges of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.Daily NewsFour Satmar Hasidic Jews pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor assault in a wild brawl over control of a prominent Brooklyn synagogue.In a Brooklyn Supreme courtroom packed with black-coated followers, the pleas by Abraham Braun, 39, Abraham Mendlowitz, 28, Chaim Roth, 35, and Lipa Krausz, 38, were only the latest chapter of a fiery feud between two rabbi brothers vying for control of the Yatel Lev temple in Williamsburg.The four were initially charged with felony assault after pouncing on victim Jacob Brach last December after he burst into the temple and sat in a seat reserved for the Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum. Also attacked was Brach's pal Leon Teilebaum. Brach suffered a broken leg and Teilebaum a broken ankle....Yesterday, prosecutor John Omara told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Anne Feldman that he accepted the lesser pleas because Brach, who has a federal conviction, was "provocative" and offensive by deliberately placing himself in the seat reserved for Zalman.Thousands of incensed Zalman followers packed the synagogue after the incident. The four were charged with attacking Brach with a door and a baton and choking, kicking and punching him."We had two police officers who will testify they were present when Mr. Brach was involved in praying," Omara said in court. "There was a lot of commotion. They broke down the door and began attacking."He said if the case went to trial, the victims would be able to identify the four men, and a retired cop who took pictures of the men would testify they continued to assault Brach even after police arrived.Krausz's lawyer George Farkas was gratified Omara described the scene as he did, noting that Brach had committed the ultimate affront and provocation to Zalman's followers by sitting in a place so holy they forbid their children from touching it."It's too bad 'he deserved a real whupping' is not a defense,'" he said.Yesterday, Ken Frydman, a spokesman for Aron's followers, said they were satisfied with the outcome. Under the plea deal, the defendants are required to perform 50 hours of community service."Hopefully, the public now sees who are the real transgressors in this situation," said Frydman.

Wow. I was under the mistaken impression that the troublemakers were young, unmarried guys between the ages of 17 to maybe 20, and now I find out that with the exception of the arrested 28 year old, the other troublemakers were in their late(r) 30's.

It is seriously troubling that men with probably 5-10 children a piece can find time out of their yom tov schedule to pick a fight with anyone.